Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation
The legal process for defending malpractice is a complex procedure. The degree to which an error constitutes malpractice depends on whether the patient is able to prove four legal elements which include professional duty; breach of this duty; harm resulted from the breach and quantifiable damages.
Plaintiffs must also prove the elements by using evidence such as expert testimony and depositions.
Incorrect diagnosis or failure to diagnose
The inability of a doctor to accurately diagnose an illness or injury can lead to serious complications or even death. Many medical
Malpractice Lawyers cases involve incorrect diagnosis. To prove negligence, the patient or their lawyer must demonstrate that a competent physician under similar circumstances and working in the same field would not have misdiagnosed the condition.
It is not always a case of malpractice, however. Even the most skilled and trained doctors make mistakes, so any claim of malpractice has to be supported by other factors such as breach, proximate causality and actual injury. For instance, if a physician does not properly sterilize their equipment before administering anesthesia, and the patient develops an infection due to the infection the doctor could be liable for malpractice.
In most instances, lawsuits claiming that there was a mistake will be filed in the state trial court where the alleged malpractice took place. Federal courts may be able to handle the case in certain instances. A case may be brought before a federal court under certain circumstances. For example it could be the issue of the statute of limitations or in the event that the parties have different nationalities. Certain claims are settled through arbitration that is binding and voluntary. This is a less formal procedure that involves professional decision makers. It is designed to reduce expenses, speed up the legal process, and remove the risks associated with large juries. Arbitration is not accessible in all cases of misconduct.
Dosage of a drug that is incorrect
Medication mistakes, also referred to as medication errors, are one of the main causes of medical
malpractice lawsuits. These errors can be caused by a physician submitting prescriptions in the wrong format, or giving the patient the wrong dosage. These mistakes are usually avoidable. In the event of an incident the situation, a pharmacist, a hospital or other health care provider could be held accountable for the harm caused by an individual who took the wrong dose of a medication.
A doctor could prescribe the wrong medication because of a misdiagnosis. Or, simply misreading the prescription. A health care professional may also prescribe the wrong dosage because of a glitch in communication. For example nurses might not read a doctor's prescription correctly or a pharmacist might make a mistake when filling the prescription. In other cases the doctor may delay delivering the correct medication, which can lead to the patient's condition getting worse.
To prevail in a malpractice case, a victim must show that the medical professional breached their duty of care and that their negligence directly led to their injuries. This requires medical experts to be able to testify. Medical malpractice cases also must prove the severity and the damages caused by the victim's injuries. This includes the costs of treatment for the victim as well as any wages lost. The more money you lose of the claim, the greater the value of the claim.
Unskillful Procedure
This type of incident is not uncommon. It may seem like a challenge for medical professionals to carry out the incorrect procedure on patients, however, it happens. The surgeon who commits this kind of error could be held responsible for negligence. If a patient is injured as a result of an error during surgery can be held responsible for any negligence that occurred during the procedure.
Any health professional who is accused of negligence must show that the patient was injured due to a specific act or omission to act. To establish this, the patient's legal team must prove that: (1) the doctor was bound by an obligation to provide care or treatment; (2) that the doctor breached the duty of care; (3) that there is a direct causal link between the breach and the injury; and (4) that the injury causes damages that the legal system could resolve.
A breach of duty of care has no meaning unless it results in injury. This is the reason medical malpractice cases tend to be built on the legal principle "res ipsa locquitur," which states that certain injuries are so obvious that they can be explained only through negligence.
Based on the facts depending on the facts, the plaintiff (the person who filed the claim or their legal representative) or their lawyer could decide to file a lawsuit in either state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed in state courts, however in certain circumstances the medical negligence lawsuit may be filed in federal district court.
Wrong Surgery
The wrong-site surgery is a common mistake, but it could be considered medical negligence if the procedure is performed on the wrong part of the body. This kind of error is usually the result of miscommunications between members of the surgical team, or pressures on production that result in surgeons being assigned multiple surgeries at once. In these situations the surgeon isn't solely responsible for an incorrect-site operation because of a legal principle known as "res ipsa locquitur", which states that the outcome speaks for itself and cannot be attributed to negligence.
If a patient is injured by wrong-site surgery and is injured, they may require additional treatments to correct problems exacerbated due to the surgical error. Patients and their family members are left with hefty medical bills. It is important to take these costs into consideration when calculating the financial cost of medical malpractice lawsuits.
Most often surgeons are liable for surgical mistakes. They are accountable for preparing the patient for the procedure, examining the medical record and chart of the patient, communicating with the medical team, and ensuring that the incision was made in the proper location. However, in some cases a hospital or anesthesiologist may be held accountable. Medical malpractice lawsuits are usually filed in state courts, but under certain circumstances, they can be transferred to federal courts.